Love or Friendship?
by Nefisa
Summary: Shishido's record at an arcade is broken, by a GIRL. This really pisses him off. He wants to play a game with her to show her that he's better.
1. The Arcade

**Edit **_Jan.24 '12_**:** Fixed the grammar and edited some minor stuff.

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. I hope you'll like it.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Arcade**

"Hmm…they're late." A brown-haired girl was sitting in the courtyard, waiting for her friends. She looked around and saw a blond boy sleeping between some flowers. She stared at him for a while.

"He really is a sleeping a beauty" she said to herself.

"Ah…Ayase-chan, sorry for being late. Did you wait long?"

Her friends finally arrived.

"No, not really."

"What are you looking at?" One of them asked.

They looked around and saw the sleeping boy.

"Isn't that Akutagawa-senpai?"

"Yes it's him."

"Hmm…so you were looking at senpai the whole time?"

"No, I wasn't…" Ayase blushed. "I just noticed him."

"Hmm…right."

The girls went to sit on an empty space in the courtyard.

"Ehm…Excuse me."

The girls looked around and saw a boy with a cap standing behind them.

"Shishido-senpai!" They said surprised.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Have you seen Akutagawa Jirou?"

"Ehm…he's sleeping there." One of the girls said, while pointing to the blond boy.

"Thank you"

Shishido walked towards Jirou.

Stopping mid-way he looked back to girls. One of them looked really familiar. He thought about it, while staring at that girl.

The girl noticed him staring and blushed.

"Ehm…senpai? Is there something wrong?" She asked.

Shishido realized what he did. "No, I just thought that you looked really familiar."

"Well, we go to the same school after all." She replied.

"No, I have this feeling I met you outside school."

"Really? I don't really remember about it."

"What's your name?"

"Sakurada Ayase."

"Hmm…well I guess I'll see you again, Sakurada-chan."

He continued to walk towards Jirou. Still thinking about the girl. He was sure he met her before.

"Oi Jirou, wake up."

"Uhn…Shishido? What's up?" Jirou said in a very sleepy tone.

"There's a club meeting now. So wake up."

"Okay…" Jirou stood up.

Together they went to the meeting.

The meeting didn't take that long, so after the meeting Shishido and Jirou went back to class together.

"Ah…I haven't eaten lunch yet." Jirou suddenly said.

"That's what happens when you're sleeping all the time."

"I can't help it. I get sleepy when I'm hungry."

"Then you should've eaten instead."

"Let's go somewhere to eat after school." Jirou suggested.

"Sure, I'm free anyway."

After school the two boys went to a fast-food restaurant to eat. Afterwards they decided to go to an arcade.

"Eh? How could this…" Shishido was shocked. He was looking at a screen with high-scores of a certain game.

"What's wrong?" Jirou also looked at the screen. "Wow! You're on second place! That's so cool!"

"That's not cool at all. Gekidasa Daze."

"Do you want to be first that bad?"

"It's not that. I've been number one for months now." Shishido explained.

"Eh? Number one? Sugoi!"

"Yeah, but not anymore."

Shishido didn't understand what happened. How could he suddenly be second? After all these months being number one. This just couldn't be true. Who was this person that beat him at this game? He looked at the screen again.

"A-chan?" He read out loud. "Who is this?"

"You don't know?" A person, who just happened to stand there, said. "She has been coming here a lot lately."

"She? It is a girl?" Shishido was in a bigger shock than before. Of all the people who could beat him it had to be a _girl_? He didn't know how to react or what to say. "A girl, huh? Gekidasa…"

Then it hit him. He remembered the girl from before. He remembered where he saw her before. It was here at the arcade. It had to be her, he thought. How could he forget?

"Shishido-senpai? Akutagawa-senpai?" A girl stood behind the two boys. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to play some games." Jirou answered.

"Sakurada-chan…Could it be…?" Shishido started.

"What is it?" The girl looked confused at Shishido.

"Could it be that you're…'A-chan'?"

"Yeah, that's me. Why do you ask?"

Shishido pointed at the screen with high scores. The girl took a look at it.

"Ah, senpai is number two." She said.

"Yeah, I am. And whose fault do you think that is."

"Huh? What do you mean? Don't tell me you mean me."

"That's exactly what I mean."

"How rude. I can't help being better than senpai."

"How dare you…" Shishido started to get irritated. "Let's settle this."

"Just get a higher score than mine and you'll be number one again."

"I've been number one for months. Do you think just getting a higher score is enough?"

"Don't be greedy. Besides, I don't have the time to play around with you today."

"You're here already, so what's the problem?"

"I have other plans too, you know."

"Then let's decide on a date to settle things."

"Alright. This Saturday at 11."

"That's decided then."

"I'll be going then. See you in school, bye."

The girl left the place, leaving the two boys behind.

"So you're having a date this Saturday." Jirou teased Shishido.

"What are you talking about?" Shishido started to blush. "I'm just going to show her that I'm number one."

"You're going to show-off?"

"No, not like that." Shishido started to blush even more. "I just want her to know her place."

"Ah! You're blushing!"

"No, I'm not!"

Jirou enjoyed teasing Shishido, and continued this for a while.


	2. The Date

**Edit **_Jan.24 '12_**:** Fixed the grammar and edited some minor stuff.

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. I hope you'll like it.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Chapter 2:** **The Date**

"Shishido-senpai." A tall boy was coming towards Shishido.

"What is it, Choutarou?" Shishido asked the tall boy.

"Are you sure it's okay to help me with training tomorrow?"

"I promised to help you, weeks ago. I won't go back on my word."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow." The tall boy walked away.

Tennis club took longer than expected and it started to get late. Shishido went home. Upon arriving he realized.

Tomorrow is Saturday.

The day, he's supposed to meet Ayase. But he can't break his promise with Choutarou. He made that one before after all.

"_What to do now."_ He thought. _"I don't have her number, so I can't call her to cancel."_

_"Maybe I should just cancel my plans with Choutarou. But I can't do such a thing to him."_

As he lay in bed, he thought about a possible solution. _"Jirou was there too, maybe he could go instead of me."_

He took out his phone and called Jirou. "It's turned off? Why at a time like this? Che…guess I'll have to call his home."

"Hello." A girl picked up the phone. "This is the Akutagawa residence. May I help you?"

"I'm Shishido Ryou. Is Jirou home?"

"Yes, I'll call him right now."

"Jirou-nii." The girl called her brother. "Someone called for you?"

"For me?" Jirou asked. "Who is it?"

"A boy called Shishido Ryou."

"Shishido? What does he want at a time like this?"

Jirou went to take the phone.

"Shishido? What is it?"

"Ah…Jirou. Why is your phone turned off?"

"Oh, it's out of battery."

"Then recharge it."

"I will later. So what is it?"

"It's about tomorrow."

"Your date?"

"It's not a date! Anyway, I can't go."

"You're going to ditch her?"

"That's why I called you. I want you to go instead."

"Why?"

"Because I already promised Choutarou before, that I would help him train tomorrow. I can't break my promise with him."

"But why me?"

"Because you're the only one who knows about it. So, please help me out with this."

"Okay. I don't really mind. But are you sure? It's your date."

"That's why I said, it's not a date! Just go and explain it to her, please."

"Okay. I will, but you'll owe me."

"Thanks, you're a real life-saver."

_The next day._

"What should I wear?" Ayase was looking in her closet, taking out the clothes one by one. "Why do I care anyway? We're just going to play a game, it's not a date. Right?"

She kept looking through her clothes.

"But a boy and girl meeting on a Saturday just sounds like a date, right?"

The girl looked at the time. "Eh? Just thirty minutes left?" She randomly picked some clothes and wore it. She did her hair in a hurry and left.

She stood outside the arcade. _"He's late"_ She thought. _"He was the one who wanted to play against me, so why should I wait."_

She was starting to get angry.

"Ah, I'm sorry I'm late." Jirou just arrived at the place. "I kinda overslept, sorry."

"Akutagawa-senpai?" Ayase was surprised to see him there. "So you came too? Do you know where Shishido-senpai is?"

"He won't be coming."

"Eh? Why?" Ayase didn't expect that and got angry. "He was the one who wanted to play against me, so why did he decide not to come? Did he chicken out at the last moment? And to send Akutagawa-senpai to tell me this! How dares he! And that after I took so long to decide what to wear!"

Jirou was shocked by the girl's reaction. He didn't think she would've taken it that bad.

"Eh…it's not like that." Jirou tried to calm her down, but that didn't really work.

"Then why didn't he come, huh?"

"He said he already made a promise with Ohtori-kun, to help him with training."

"Then why did he agree with today?"

"I guess he was caught up with the moment."

"So he just asked you to come instead of him."

"Yeah."

"Well, it would be a shame to just go home now." Ayase finally calmed down for a bit. "Want to play some games in the arcade?"

"Sure."

They went inside. Jirou looked around for a bit.

"Ah, that looks like fun. Let's try that one." Jirou started walking towards the game.

Ayase looked where he was going. She stared at it for a while and then looked to the other games around. She looked at Jirou again, to see if he was still going the same direction. He did. The girl didn't quite understand.

"Ah, but senpai that is a grabbing machine."

"Yeah! Doesn't it look really fun?" Jirou got excited and tried it.

"It won't work senpai. It's just a waste of time."

"Eh? You think so? But it's so fun."

"Is there something in it that you want?"  
Ayase looked at the things in the machine. There were only cute plushies in it.

"Not really." Jirou tried to catch one several times, but failed. He kept trying.

Ayase looked at Jirou trying hard. He looked really cute. The way he concentrated so much, just to get a plushie he didn't even want. Just because it was fun. He's wasting so much money for something useless, just because it was fun. What is it with this guy? Ayase didn't understand, but she couldn't help but look at the excited blond boy in front of her.

"Yay!" The boy suddenly said out loud. Ayase got a little shock.

"Sugoi! You really got one."

What the orange hair guy caught was a cute white rabbit plushie.

"Here, you have it." Jirou gave the rabbit to Ayase.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah."

Ayase blushed, while taking the rabbit from Jirou.

"Ehm…Akutagawa-senpai."

"Yes?"

"D-Do you want to hang out with me today?" Ayase looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye-contact.

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

Together they walked out of the arcade.


	3. The Bed Shop

**Edit **_Jan.24 '12_**:** Fixed the grammar and edited some minor stuff.

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. I hope you'll like it.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Bed Shop**

Jirou and Ayase were walking in a shopping district

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat somewhere." Ayase said.

"Yeah, it's already lunchtime." Jirou replied.

They walked into a snack bar and placed their order. After which they went to sit at a place close to the window.

"I really can't believe Shishido-senpai." Ayase said. "He was the one who wanted a rematch. And I was looking forward to it, too."

"He sounded kind of guilty when he called me."

"He'd better be. Or he'll be in great trouble at school on Monday."

"Do you feel sad, not being able to go on a date with Shishido?"

"Eh? A date with Shishido?" Ayase started to blush. "What do you mean with a date? We would only play a game against each other."

"But you look like you especially dressed up for today."

"What are you talking about? I just randomly took some clothes out of the closet."

"Really? They look really cute, so I thought you purposely picked them."

"Eh?" The girl lowered her head, so that Jirou wasn't able to see her face. Her heart was beating fast, because of Jirou's comment. It took a few seconds for her heart to calm down. She looked up again.

"Is that you're only reason for thinking that I was looking forward to a date with Shishido-senpai?"

"No." Jirou shook his head. "It's also because of how you talk about Shishido."

"Well, he promised to come and then he didn't appear. It's only natural to be angry, right?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"Besides, I'm really happy to be with Akutagawa-senpai, today."

"_Jirou_ is okay. Akutagawa sounds too long."

"Okay, Jirou-senpai. Then you can just call me Ayase."

They continued to eat and talk.

"Is there somewhere in particular you want to go?" Ayase asked, when almost done eating.

"Well, I am looking for a new bed for in my room. The one I have is really old."

"Okay, then let's go look for that first."

After finishing their food, they stood up and left the snack bar. They went to look for a bed shop. It didn't take long for them to find one. They looked around in the shop for a while.

"Looking at all these beds, makes me want to sleep in them. Don't you think so too, senpai?" Ayase looked towards Jirou and saw him lying on a bed. She walked towards him. "Eh...senpai?"

She looked at the sleeping boy.

_"__He looks so cute."_ She thought. She got closer to take a better look at him. She stroked his blond hair. _"His hair is really soft, too."_ She got closer to Jirou's face. And then she kissed him.

Jirou felt something soft on his lips. He wondered what it was, but then the feeling was gone.

Ayase realized what she just did. She stepped away from Jirou and turned around. Trying not to look at the boy.

Jirou slowly opened his eyes to see what he felt. He saw Ayase standing next to the bed he was in. He only saw her back and wondered what she was doing.

"Ayase-chan?"

The girl had a shock and turned around.

"J-Jirou-senpai. I-I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Jirou wondered what she was talking about and why she was being so nervous.

"Did something happen?" He asked her.

"Eh? Not really." Ayase blushed and turned around so Jirou wouldn't see her face.

Jirou saw her face getting red and thought what it could be. And then it hit. He realized what he felt on his lips before, Ayase's lips. He started to blush, too, and didn't know what to say. He figured it would be best to pretend as if he didn't know.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep." He apologized to Ayase and got out of bed.

They decided to get out of the shop. Together they just walked, without saying anything. Both of them were still nervous about what happened.

They walked past a manga shop.

"Ah." The blond boy suddenly said while looking at the shop.

"Something wrong, senpai?" Ayase asked. She was surprised to suddenly hear something.

"They have the newest volume of my favorite manga."

"Which one is it?"

"That one." Jirou pointed towards one of the mangas, displayed at the window.

"Eh? That's your favorite manga? Mine too!"

"Really? You like shounen manga?"

"Yeah. I really like manga with lots of action in it, but that one is my favorite."

"That's really cool!"

They walked into the store and kept talking about the manga for a while. Saying things like who their favorite character is, the best manga moment, and so on.

After buying the manga, they looked around for a while in the shop.

"Do you read manga a lot?" Jirou asked.

"Yeah. I also really love to watch anime."

"Really? I don't really watch anime, they're always so slow."

"Yeah, that's true. I also prefer to read manga. But my friends always say I'm weird."

"Why? I think it's really cool."

"Because all I read is shounen manga. And I also really like to play action/adventure games."

"Games are cool too."

They kept talking for a while about manga and games. By the time they realized it, it was starting to get dark.

"I should go home. Or my parents will start to worry." Ayase then said.

"Okay. I'll walk you home."

"Thank you."

They walked towards Ayase's home. There they said goodbye to each other.

"Then, I'll see you Monday at school."

"Yeah. See you then." Jirou had this sudden urge to kiss the girl. His heart was suddenly beating fast. He wondered what this feeling was. Never before had he felt like that.

"Well, I'm going inside then. Bye."

"Bye." His heart was still beating fast. While thinking why that was, he walked home.


	4. A Challenge

**Edit **_Jan.24 '12_**:** Fixed the grammar and edited some minor stuff.

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. I hope you'll like it.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Challenge**

"So how did it go?" Shishido asked Jirou.

"Did what go?" Jirou asked. He just woke up after sleeping a few hours during class.

The two boys were on their way to boys' locker room to get ready for tennis practice.

"With Sakurada-chan, of course. You sleeping idiot."

"Oh…it was really fun." Jirou said while smiling.

"Fun? I thought you just went to tell her I wouldn't come."

"I did, but then we went into the arcade. And then she wanted to hang out for the rest of the day."

"Eh…how did she react when you told her I wouldn't come."

"She got really angry."

"I guess I should apologize, then."

"Yeah, you should."

"So…eh…what did you guys do?"

"We went to eat in a snack bar. Afterwards we went into a bed shop, but there I fell asleep…and…" Jirou got silent. He remembered the kiss. His heart started to beat fast again and his face turned slightly red.

Shishido noticed this strange behavior. "Did something happen there?"

"Eh?…Ehm…not really."

Shishido noticed how Jirou was trying to avoid having eye-contact. He felt uncomfortable about it. He wanted to know what happened, though he had an idea. He decided to just leave that for now.

"So what did you do after the bed shop?"

Jirou started to recover. "We went into a manga shop. Did you know that Ayase-chan really likes shounen anime and manga. She also really loves to play action/adventure games!" The big smile returned on Jirou's face.

"Ayase-chan?" Hearing Jirou calling the girl by her name didn't make Shishido feel any better.

"Yeah. We talked a lot about mangas and games and stuff. That was really fun. She really is a cool girl."

"I see." Shishido wished he went himself instead of asking Jirou to go. Why he wished that was something he didn't know himself. "Eh…Jirou…do you…eh…like…" He paused for a while.

"Like what?" Jirou asked, he was confused.

"Never mind. It's not important." Shishido didn't dare to ask any further. He was afraid to hear the answer.

"Oh okay." Jirou wondered what Shishido wanted to ask.

They arrived at the locker room and changed into their tennis clothes. Jirou lay down on one of the benches there and fell asleep.

"You're not jealous, are you?"

Shishido turned around to find Atobe standing there.

"You…Since when…"

"If you paid more attention to your surroundings, you would have noticed me walking behind the two of you all along."

"You could've just said something if you were there."

"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation."

"You just wanted to know what we were talking about, right."

Atobe didn't answer this. Instead he just changed the subject.

"You know there are other ways to ask a girl on date."

"What are you talking about. Why would I want to ask a girl on a date." Shishido started to get annoyed.

"It's obvious you like that girl."

"I don't like anyone."

"Really?"

"Just shut the fuck up, Atobe."

"There is a school ball coming up."

"So what?"

"I challenge you to ask that girl for the ball."

"What? Why would I do such a stupid thing."

"You're not afraid to get rejected, are you?"

"Of course not. I just don't see the point in doing this. Why would I want to go to a ball with someone I don't like."

"Then it's okay with you if Jirou goes with her?"

"I don't care about stupid things like that."

Actually he did care, he just didn't want Atobe to find out. The idea of Jirou going to the ball with Ayase made him feel bad. He didn't want that to happen. He wondered if Jirou would ask that girl to the ball or maybe even already did. Thinking about that just made him feel worse. He had to ask Ayase before Jirou did.

Shishido walked out of the locker room. He thought about skipping tennis practice and search for Ayase, but then changed his mind. He didn't want to risk being dropped from the regulars again.

"What's wrong, Shishido-senpai?"

"Eh?" Shishido realized someone was talking to him. "Ah...Choutarou…It's nothing."

"Really? You look distracted."

Shishido noticed the worried look on Ohtori's face.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, but I'm okay. Really." He made a fake smile.

"Are you sure? You don't look okay to me."

"I'm really okay, so don't worry."

"If there's something wrong you can tell me."

"You're really persistent, aren't you?" Shishido sighed, then decided to just tell Ohtori about his troubles. "I don't really know what's wrong myself, but I just keep thinking about this girl."

"A girl? Do you like her?" Ohtori was surprised. He didn't expect Shishido to be troubled by something like that.

"W-What are you talking about?" Shishido started to blush.

"So you _do_ like her?"

"First Atobe and now you!" Shishido started to get annoyed. "How many times do I need to say that I don't like anyone?"

Without realizing, Shishido yelled the last sentence. The other tennis members stared at him in confusion.

"What? Shishido-san likes a girl?" One of the boys said.

"Who would've expected that." Another one said.

Shishido happened to hear that and yelled "Just shut up! I DON'T like anyone!"

"O-Okay. If you say so." The boys said.

Shishido walked back to the locker room. There he tried to clear his mind and calm down.

After finally calming down he decided to go back to the courts.

Just when he walked out of the locker room he saw a long, brown-haired girl and his heart suddenly started to beat faster.

"Sa-Sakurada-chan." He called out to her.

The girl turned around.

"Oh…It's you." She said in an uninterested tone. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize." Shishido said.

"What for?"

"Well, I kind of stood you up the other day."

"You sound as if we had planned a date. It was just for a stupid game, so don't mind it."

"But I still feel guilty for not coming."

"It's okay. I had a lot of fun with Jirou-senpai."

This comment hurt Shishido.

"I still think I should do something to make it up."

"If that will make you feel better. What do you have in mind?"

Shishido thought for a while. How could he make it up to her? Should he ask her for a date?

He remembered what Atobe said _"Then it's okay with you if Jirou goes with her?" _

And decided to ask her, but he didn't know how. Suddenly asking her to go to the ball with him would sound weird.

"Ayase!" Ayase turned around. Some of her friends came. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing really." Ayase told her friends. Then she turned back to Shishido "If you don't have any ideas, then I shall be going." And she walked towards her friends.

"Wait." Shishido suddenly said. "W-Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

Ayase turned around. She looked at Shishido. She didn't believe what she just heard.

"This time I'll really go, I promise." Shishido said, he tried not to sound desperate.

Ayase didn't know what to say.

"Uwaah…you're so lucky Ayase. You should really go." One of her friends said.

Ayase thought for a while. She actually wanted to go with Jirou, but she didn't expect him to ask her. And going alone would be embarrassing, her friends also had someone to go with after all. And she didn't want to be left alone.

"Ehm…okay…I don't have date anyway."


	5. Confessions

**Edit **_Jan.24 '12_**:** Fixed the grammar and edited some minor stuff.

**A/N:** This is my first time writing a fanfic. I hope you'll like it.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Confessions**

Jirou was sleeping on the couch in the living room when his father entered.

"Oi. Wake up, Jirou." He said.

"Hnn…" Jirou opened his eyes slowly.

"You got a big couch in your room, so why do you keep sleeping here? What if we suddenly get visitors?"

"Ah…Sorry." Jirou sat up. Still looking sleepy.

"I heard there will be a school ball soon at Hyoutei."

"Yeah, I remember people talking about something like that." Jirou wondered why his father suddenly started talking about the school ball.

"Do you have somebody you're going with?"

"Eh…no."

"Really? Why not?"

"I didn't really plan on going."

"What are you saying? Of course you're going." The gentle voice of his father started to sound strict.

"Eh…"

"You always try to skip these events. It's your last year in middle school, so you should just go for once."

"But I…"

"No buts." Jirou's father interrupted. "You're going to that ball. If you can't find a date yourself, then I'll introduce you to someone."

"E-Eh?" Jirou knew that there was no use in arguing, so he decided to just agree.

The only person to go to the ball with, whom Jirou could think of, was Ayase. He decided to go and ask her during lunch break, since classes were starting soon.

"Eh? Shishido has a date for the school ball?" Jirou heard a classmate say.

"Yeah. It seems he asked a second year, yesterday." Another one said.

"Really? Impossible."

"You think so too? He even managed to get a date before me!"

"Who is this girl, by the way?"

"Her name is Sakurada Ayase."

"What?" Jirou suddenly said out loud, while standing up from his seat. "Is that true?"

"Well, yeah, if I remember correct." His classmate replied.

"Why? Did you want to go with her?" The other classmate said in a teasing voice.

"Go where with who?" Shishido entered the class and happened to hear the last sentence.

Jirou looked at Shishido for a while and then looked at the floor.

"It's nothing." He said and he walked out of the class.

"What's up with him?" Shishido asked with a confused look on his face.

"Dunno." One of the classmates said. "But he did seem really shocked when he found out that you were going to the school ball with Sakurada Ayase."

"W-What did you just say?" Shishido was shocked by what he heard. How could they already know that he was going with Ayase?

"Well, it's just a rumor." The other classmate said. "I just happened to overhear some second-year girls. Is it true?"

"Eh…well…yeah, kind of." Shishido said, slowly he was turning red.

"Eh? You're lying, right?"

The two classmates started to laugh. The thought of Shishido actually asking a girl made them laugh even harder.

"What's wrong with me having a date?" Shishido said, sounding irritated.

"N-Nothing." The two classmates replied.

"Anyway, I'm going after Jirou." Shishido said, and then left the classroom.

Jirou was walking towards the roof.

_Why did I walk away?_ He thought. _It's not like Shishido knew, that I wanted to go with her._

"Eh? Want to go with her?" Jirou suddenly said out loud. "What am I thinking?"

Jirou started to feel tired, so he sat down on the stairs.

"Eh? So there's someone you want to go to the ball with?" A voice suddenly said.

Jirou looked up to see who it was and was surprised to see Ayase there.

"A-Ayase-chan…" He said.

"So, who's this girl?" Ayase asked. She sat down next to Jirou.

"N-No one." Jirou said. He tried to hide his face, so Ayase couldn't see him turning red. "I…I heard you're going with Shishido."

"Ah?...Uhn…He asked me, yesterday."

"Hmm…"

"You don't sound happy."

"Why should I be happy?" Jirou said, in what he thought to be a very soft voice.

Ayase wondered what could have happened to Jirou.

"Then, did you want to go with me?" She asked in a teasing voice.

Jirou looked at Ayase. He was completely red. "Y-Yes, I wanted to…" After saying that he stood up and walked away.

Ayase looked at Jirou walking away, and slightly turned red. With a soft voice she said "I'm sorry."

Shishido, who overheard this talk, went back to class. He felt guilty. He knew there was a possibility that Jirou likes Ayase too, but he still asked her.

"You're back fast. Did something happen?" A classmate asked.

"Ah…no…" Shishido answered.

"You're looking depressed…something must have happened."

"I said nothing happened, didn't I?" Shishido said with an angry and annoyed voice.

"O-Okay, if you say so.." The classmate walked away to his seat.

"_Jirou didn't come to class all day."_ Shishido thought. _"Maybe he went home."_

"Where's Jirou?" Atobe asked Shishido.

"Dunno." Shishido answered.

"You're in the same class, right?"

"That doesn't mean I know what he does 24/7"

Atobe looked at Shishido with a face that said _You actually dare to talk to Ore-sama like that_.

"I heard about it Shishido!" Gakuto suddenly appeared.

"G-Gakuto! What're you talking about?" Shishido said.

"You actually asked a girl to the ball!"

Shishido turned red. He looked at Atobe, hoping he didn't hear anything.

"So you actually did ask that girl?" Atobe asked with a big smile on his face.

"Eh? You knew about it, Atobe?" Gakuto asked.

"Of course. Nothing can deceive Ore-sama's eyes."

"Anyway, don't just stand here and slack of."

"Ah, yes."

Shishido and Gakuto started their tennis practice, when Shishido saw two legs behind a tree. He walked towards it and as he expected, Jirou was lying there. He sat down next to the sleeping boy.

"Yo." He said.

Jirou turned his back towards Shishido and pretended not to hear anything.

"O-Oi! I know you're awake."

"What do you want?" Jirou asked after a while.

"Why didn't you come to class when you're at school?"

"I was tired and fell asleep."

"Then why are you skipping practice?"

"I am tired and want to sleep."

"Right…"

I was silent. Neither of them knew what to say.

"I never expected you to ask someone to the school ball." Jirou finally said.

"Yeah…I didn't expect it myself either."

"I don't understand why it annoys me so much, that you're going with her."

"You wanted to go with her?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"You like her right?"

"Like?" Jirou said with a confused look.

"Yeah…or don't you?"

"Oh, so that's this feeling. Do you like her, too?"

"I guess so…"

"I won't lose."

"I didn't expect an easy win."

"Oi! What do you think you two are doing!" Atobe interrupted the two.

"Atobe!" The sudden appearance of Atobe shocked the two boys.

"Get back to practice now!" Atobe said.

"Y-Yes!"


End file.
